At Last
by theonlythingthatsevermattered
Summary: My take on Jake and Elizabeth after the Nurse's Ball. One shot.


**A/N: I wrote this back in May, but my muse for GH has not been cooperating in a long time. This is a one shot, but I have had a Lake story mulling about for a few months now. I just haven't had to motivation to write for a couple years now, so I don't know if/when I'll update my other stories, or if I'll write the Lake one. But this little one shot refused to quit bugging me. Hope you all enjoy! And I'm sure you can guess the changes. Also, please excuse the ending because I had no idea how to cut it off. And please excuse the rust :)**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, just the storyline.**

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Closing the front door behind her, she lets out this breath she didn't realize she had been holding the whole way home.

 _Love is about honesty. Love is about respect. You didn't give me either of those. In fact, you took away my choice in the matter._

She reaches down and pulls her heels off, somehow feeling the weight of the world has suddenly been lifted off her shoulders.

 _I remember when I believed I could see a kind soul buried underneath all of this self-doubt, obsession, and insecurities. I gave you chance after chance hoping that I could find that part of you again, but it's gone. It's gone! Maybe it was never even there. Maybe you were never good. At the very least you were never good enough for me._

Elizabeth didn't know how, but she felt a sense of relief. It was like she had been waiting for the other shoe to drop the whole time she was reunited with Ric, but she kept pushing that feeling to the back of her mind. She knew if she ever spent any real thought, she would know, deep down, that Ric hadn't changed. Nor will he ever.

She was grateful that Patrick had offered to let Cameron and Aiden stay over at his house for the night. As much as she wanted to be close to her family right now, she also knew that she needed time to process everything that happened.

Elizabeth knew Ric was capable of committing the most despicable acts in the name of love. Cruel, _disgusting_ things. But, she had placed trust in the fact that he had changed. Never again would she make that mistake.

She walks upstairs, each step lighter than the last. She just wanted to change out of her gown and take a shower, eager to wash off the night's events off of her. Thirty minutes later, and she felt like a new woman. Well, almost.

Now she had to deal with the fallout of Ric's betrayal. How would she face anyone after looking like a fool at the Nurse's Ball? Everyone had warned her that Ric hadn't changed, but as always, she forgave far too easy, and placed her trust in the wrong people.

Walking back downstairs, she goes into the kitchen to make a cup of hot tea before bed. She knew tonight would be easy, but tomorrow would be a whole different story. Elizabeth knew what she would face. It was the bitter realization that she had trusted the wrong person yet again, and the whole of Port Charles telling her they warned her.

Wrapping her fingers around the mug of tea, she revels in the warmth, and takes a sip. Making her way out of the kitchen, Elizabeth heads for her room, knowing that she would be getting little sleep tonight. As she turned off all of the lights, a knock was heard from her front door. Checking the clock on the mantle to see that it was almost midnight, Elizabeth is confused. Who would be visiting her at this time? She figured it was Patrick, asking for an extra set of clothes because the kids messed theirs up, or Aiden needed an extra toy.

"I'm sorry Patrick, what did I-"

Elizabeth stops in her tracks to see Jake standing on her porch. He was still wearing his tuxedo from the Nurse's Ball, sans the bowtie. Jake gave her a small smile, and placed his hands in his pockets.

"Oh, Jake, I'm sorry. I just assumed you were Patrick coming over to get something for the boys." Elizabeth hurriedly explained as she pulled her thin cardigan around her. Even though it was early May, the nights could be chilly. Or it could be due to the man currently standing on her porch still wearing his tuxedo.

"Are the boys okay," Jake asked with concern in his voice. He pulls one hand out of his pocket to run through his hair.

Elizabeth nods her head. "Oh yes, they're fine. They're just staying over at Patrick's for the night. He offered to watch them for me, figured I could use some time to decompress after well…you know." She smiles, but it doesn't reach her eyes. Jake looks down at the ground, and then looks back up at her. "Did you want to come in?"

Jake smiles. "If you're up for visitors, sure." Elizabeth smiles, and steps aside so she could let him inside. "I hope you weren't heading for bed." Jake says as he notices most of the lights were turned off.

He steps into the foyer, while Elizabeth turns the lights back on. "No, I figured I wasn't going to get much sleep anyways. Plus, we didn't get a chance to talk after the whole Ric and Hayden fiasco."

Jake gives her a sympathetic smile. "Yeah, about that…"

Elizabeth sets her mug down on the table, and crosses her arms. "Did you get a chance to talk to Hayden? Did she say why she was pretending to be your wife?"

He rubs the back of his neck before meeting her gaze. "Carly and I confronted her out in the lobby. Well, Carly mainly confronted her. I asked her why she would go along with Ric's plan, and if we had actually moved back to Beecher's Corner, what would she had done then. Hayden didn't really seem to have an answer, besides doing it for the money."

Elizabeth shakes her head. "I guess money means a lot to some people. I just can't believe someone would fake being their spouse just for money. I mean, Ric must have been paying her a lot of money." She carefully watched Jake, seeing him grimace just at the mention of the other man's name.

Jake walked away from her, facing the mantle. He had a bad feeling about Ric ever since he had first shown up on Elizabeth's porch. She had insisted that he had changed, but somehow, Jake could just see right through Ric's act.

"Are you sad that Hayden isn't your wife?"

She usually wasn't this blunt, but Elizabeth figured they needed to put all their cards on the table. They owed it to themselves after being lied to by people they trusted.

Jake didn't turn to look at her first, instead reaching for a picture on the mantle. He takes it in his hands, a fond smile on his face. It had been taken a few days before he had moved out. Aiden and Cameron were standing in front of a snowman, all bundled up smiling from ear to ear. Elizabeth was kneeling beside Aiden, a similar smile on her face, wearing a cute black beanie and red snow jacket. Jake remembered taking this picture, it was the first time he had seen snow since he woke up. Right after this had been taken, Cameron had started a snowball fight, one that ended with Elizabeth and Aiden surrendering to Jake and Cameron. He placed the picture frame back on the mantle, and turned around.

"I was disappointed that I trusted the wrong person, and that I still don't know who I am. But no…I'm not sad that Hayden isn't my wife." He could see Elizabeth breathe a small sigh of relief. "To tell you the truth, I really didn't like her all that much."

That put a smile on her face. He grinned as well as they fell into a comfortable silence. Jake knew that Hayden was a safe topic for them, but what was next would be hard.

He looked down at the floor, hands in his pockets, suddenly nervous to ask. He looked back up at her, knowing that it was now or never.

"I'm guessing you talked to Ric." Jake said. He could tell by the look on her face that she did.

Elizabeth sighed, knowing that this conversation had to happen. "Yes, after Carly exposed him up on stage, I ran out of the ballroom, and he followed. I didn't intend on talking, but he insisted."

Jake stepped closer to her, hands no longer in his pockets, but fisted at his side. "Did he hurt you?" He asked, concern evident in his voice, but also a simmering anger.

She shook her head. "No, if anything I hurt him when I slapped him." Elizabeth saw the look of surprise on Jake's face. "Yeah, it wasn't my proudest moment, but Ric said some things, and I slapped him."

Jake couldn't help it, he grinned at the woman standing in front of him. "I wish I could have seen that."

Elizabeth smiled, seeing the anger had dissipated from Jake's eyes. "I told him we were through. That the love he had for me wasn't love at all. And that I didn't deserve to be put through that again."

She moved to the sofa, wrapping her cardigan tightly around her. "I know you think I'm probably crazy for giving Ric another chance, after everything he's done." Elizabeth looked over to see Jake move to sit besides her, giving her some space. "I just thought that somehow, this time would be different. This time, Ric would be different. That he would be the man I truly believed him to be. I don't know, maybe I am crazy for thinking that."

Jake reached for her hand, carefully rubbing his thumb over her fingers. He waited for her to look at him before speaking. Finally, she glanced over at him. "Elizabeth, you are not crazy for wanting to believe in Ric, and that he changed. And you are right. You deserve more than him. So much more."

She could feel that the air changed between them as he talked. Elizabeth glanced down at their hands, still intertwined.

"And you deserve more than Hayden. You deserve to find out who you are, and your family." Elizabeth said as she let go of his hand, and stood up. She walked behind the sofa, trying to put some space between them.

Jake stood and followed her, standing a foot behind her. He went to reach for her, but pulled back. "Elizabeth…I…I…" He didn't know what to say.

"It's okay, Jake. I understand. We already tried this once, and then your wife showed up. Well, your fake wife, but still. Who's to say that won't happen again? For all we know, your family is looking for you as we speak." Elizabeth nervously rambled on.

Jake reached for her hand, and slowly she turned around. "You're right. Any day I could wake up, and remember who I am. I could remember my old life, and my family." He admitted as he took both of her hands in his. He couldn't resist touching her, as if just mere physical touch could solve their problems.

Elizabeth looked up at him, tears starting to pool in her eyes. All he wanted to do was to wipe them away, and assure her that things could be different. "But…I can't spend the rest of my life wondering if I'll get my memories back. I refuse. I mean, it's been seven months since I've woken up. No one has shown up looking for me that was actually my family. I haven't remembered anything besides the side effects from Hayden's brainwashing."

Jake stepped closer to her, almost eliminating the space between them. They both looked down at their linked hands. "Tonight, after I talked to Hayden, Carly asked me an important question." He looked back up at her, almost willing her to do the same. "She asked me if I wanted to rush into a relationship with you."

Elizabeth tried to hide the surprise from her face, but she was sure she failed. "Jake, I don't want you to feel pressured after Hayden-"

Jake shook his head, and smiled. "Elizabeth, I don't feel pressured when it comes to you. You do remember what happened right before Hayden knocked on your door?"

She blushed at his question, admitting to herself that she had often imagined what would have happened if Hayden had never shown up.

Jake grinned down at her, happy to see that she felt the same way. "She asked me what if I have a family out there? What if I suddenly remember who I am?"

Elizabeth looked away from, feeling a tear slide down her cheek. She wished their situation could be different. That maybe if he just knew who he really was, then maybe they could have a chance.

Jake frowns, and cups her cheek. Gently, he wipes her tears away. "Elizabeth," he whispers, trying to get her attention. She looks back up at him, that special light no longer in her eyes, just sadness. He wanted to say anything that would bring that light back. "I don't think I'm ever going to remember who I am. And I don't want to live my life just sitting by, and doing nothing. I don't want to simply live. I want to feel alive."

Elizabeth gave him a weak smile, leaning into his touch. "Jake, I wish you could remember who you were. I want that for you more than anything."

He sighed, regretting that they had met under these circumstances. "I just…Elizabeth, you were the first person I saw when I woke up. I don't think I'm wrong in saying there's been a connection ever since. Hell, maybe we did know each other in another life."

She laughed, and Jake smiled at that. "What I do know is that you were the only person that stood by me during my trial. You believed in my innocence, and helped me prove it. You were the person who helped put my life back together after I woke up. You were the person that opened her home to me when no one else would. You gave me a chance, when everyone else told you not to, and it is something I will never forget."

Jake grasped both her hands in his, and took a deep breath. "You make me realize that there is more to life than just simply being Jake Doe. You've taught me to live in the moment, treasure today because tomorrow is not certain."

Well, if she wasn't crying before, she was now. "Jake please-"

He smiled, gently squeezing her hands before continuing. "I don't know what tomorrow will bring, if I will remember or if I won't, but right now, here…I just want to be with you."

Elizabeth smiled up at him. She felt one of his hands let go of hers, and settle on her waist, pulling her even closer to him. "Before you even woke up, I felt a connection to you. You weren't just my patient. I just felt this need to help you. I couldn't explain it then, and I still can't."

She moved her free hand to his shirt, slowly touching each button before she reaches up, and cups his cheek. Elizabeth looks into his eyes, eyes that seemed so familiar to her, like she had known him her whole life.

"At first, I just wanted to help you out, but soon, it had become more than that. People warned me to stay away from you, but…you always made me feel safe."

Elizabeth played with the hair on the back of his neck, watching him as he reacted to her touch. She could feel his hand at her waist slowly moving lower.

"Then, Ric came back, and everything changed, but not my feelings for you. I couldn't turn them off, even if I wanted to. Maybe that was part of the reason why Ric and I didn't work out."

Jake grinned down at her. "Well, that, and maybe because he hired a woman to be my fake wife," he said.

Elizabeth laughed. "Well that too. But I couldn't shake what had been building between us for months. What's still building between us."

Jake moved closer to her, leaning his forehead against her. He could hear her gasp, and he smiled before pulling back.

"Elizabeth, I care about you, so much that it scares me sometimes because I don't want to lose this."

This time, she pulled him down to her, making him look her in the eyes. "Jake, I care about you, too. But you're not going to lose me. I want you."

He nodded his head, and cupped both of her cheeks. Jake looked down at her luscious lips before looking back into her eyes. They move closer to each other, just inches apart. Jake wraps one arm around her waist, while the other cups her cheek. He rests his forehead against hers, then presses his lips to hers. They pull each other close, needing to be in each other's arms.

After pulling back to breathe, Jake smiles down at her, and touches his nose to hers. She giggles, and gives him a peck on the lips.

He wraps both arms around her so she is firmly in his embrace. Jake reaches down and kisses her again. He pulls away after a moment. "I just have one more question," Jake says as he pulls a strand of her hair behind her ear.

Elizabeth smiles up at him, happy that she was in his arms because she wasn't sure she could stand on her own after that kiss. "Just one?"

Jake grins. "I don't think it's too bold to ask if we can finish what we started before we were interrupted by my wife?"

Elizabeth blushes before stepping out his embrace. Keeping one hand in his, she leads to the stairs, and waits for him to turn out the lights. As he does, he surprises her, and picks her up, racing up the steps.

He carries her up to her bedroom where they spend the rest of the night making up for lost time.

 _The End_


End file.
